


i will not ask you where you came from

by Felilla



Series: What Walks the Trees and Swims the Deep [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Being Lost, Bullying, Child Neglect, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, First Meetings, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Immortality, Multi, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 05:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felilla/pseuds/Felilla
Summary: Oighearálainn stumbles upon a particularly interesting human.{Or, Darling-Grace is most definitely not lost}





	i will not ask you where you came from

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is an entirely original story that I felt like posting snippets {usually prompts or bits that won't be in the actual story} of somewhere. They will also be posted on my Tumblr, which will be at the bottom of the page.
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy!
> 
> Oighearálainn is pronounced eye-er-al-ann

Oighearálainn liked the forest much better when she was alone. She hopped from treetop to treetop, gliding through the air as if she weighed nothing. Her bodyguards could not hope to catch up at this point and that was fine with her. She did not need bodyguards, no matter what Mother said.

Mother was too cautious. She did not want to bother the humans in their silly little village, but she also did not want to argue with the court members that enjoyed terrorizing the populace. Queen Dearbhail had a very loose grasp on her subjects and believed that every problem could be solved with another revel or hunt. 

Oighearálainn supposed it made sense. Mother’s only real job was making sure that the changing of the seasons went accordingly and settling squabbles between her subjects. Even so, Mother was the most powerful fae in the entire forest, more powerful even than the asrai queen on the other side of the beach. Or at least, Oighearálainn  _ thought _ she was.

The little princess of the forest found herself so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the sudden end of the tree branches. Her momentum carried her a few inches before she dropped like a rock. Oighearálainn slammed into the ground below with a loud crunch.

And then the ground was caving beneath Oighearálainn’s body. She dropped several more feet into a deep hole. Oighearálainn laid on her back for several seconds, staring up at the clear sky overhead in a bit of a daze. What just  _ happened _ ?

She slowly sat up, hissing when a sharp pain entered her hand. Oighearálainn glanced down and immediately flinched. She was  _ surrounded _ by iron needles. It was truly a miracle that hadn’t landed on any of them. It would not have killed her, as it would a lesser fae, but she found that it would be incredibly troublesome to explain to Mother how she got so burned and cut up.

Carefully, Oighearálainn picked herself up and stood. She turned her gaze to the edge of the hole, still several feet out of her reach. Oighearálainn had always been small, just shy of the size of a human adolescent, and now she was resenting that fact more than ever before. Mother assured her that she would grow, eventually, but Oighearálainn was 367 years old! If she hadn’t started growing yet, when would she?

Oighearálainn had been so consumed with her height problem that she didn’t hear the singing above her until it was in the same clearing she was trapped in.

The voice was clear and effeminate and very, very childlike. Whoever it was, they did not sound very good. Oighearálainn considered shouting and telling them that, but then she remembered the situation she was in.

“Hello?” she called and the voice immediately cut off.

For a long moment, Oighearálainn wondered if she had scared them off. If they were fae, they would have rushed off immediately to grab Mother. But if they were human, then they were likely terrified.

And she heard a tiny hesitant, “Yes?”

“Help?” Oighearálainn tried.

“This is a trick,” the human—Oighearálainn was pretty sure it was a human—whispered. “It has to be.”

Oighearálainn heard retreating footsteps and something stirred in her chest that she wasn’t familiar with. “No!” she shouted before she could stop herself. “No, no  _ please _ . I’m stuck down here.”

Slow, unsure footsteps. And then a face was peering down at Oighearálainn from the edge of the hole. Oighearálainn could now see that it was a little girl with a mop of red hair and eyes that glowed a blue-green color Oighearálainn had never seen on a human. The girl scrunched her nose, the little dots on her face moving with the movement.

“You  _ are _ a fae,” she said, disgust evident in her voice.

Irritation bubbled in Oighearálainn’s chest. This human was either very brave or very stupid to be talking down to the Princess of the Woods like that. Oighearálainn decided to tell her as such, but the girl just disappeared from view.

“Wait!” Oighearálainn shrieked.

The face returned, this time smiling, dimples and all. “I think I’m gonna just leave you to die down there, fairy,” she said, remarkably chipper.

“I will not  _ die _ ,” Oighearálainn protested indignantly. “I’m too powerful for a little bit of iron to kill me.”

The girl’s eyes widened before her smile turned into something decidedly wicked. “If you’re so powerful, why don’t you just fly out?” she asked, her tone more disrespectful than Oighearálainn had ever heard from a human. She was used to their respectful, reverent tones. To their pleas and their compliments.

“I do not,” Oighearálainn’s face felt distinctly warm and there was a lump in her throat. “I do not know how.”

The girl furrowed her eyebrows. “I thought all of you could fly.”

“Yes, most members of the fae court can perform basic levitation,” Oighearálainn crossed her arms. Her eyes were stinging now. “I cannot yet.”

She tried not to sound embarrassed, but she was pretty sure she’d failed. The girl’s mouth was agape as she stared down at Oighearálainn. Then she smiled again. "Oh," she said. "Oh! This is  _ amazing _ ! Sister is not going to believe this! A fae that can't fly!"

"Stop it!" Oighearálainn shouted. Her chest felt tight all of a sudden. "Stop being so mean."

The girl's delighted mood dropped and she glared down at Oighearálainn. "Why should I be nice to you?" she asked. "You're all mean to us humans."

" _ I _ don't hurt humans," Oighearálainn protested. She knew that wasn't entirely true. She'd definitely pulled her fair share of pranks on the silly mortals that wandered into her path. But she'd never actually caused physical harm to a human. Not to be knowledge, anyways. "Can you just help me up? I'll give you a gift."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Why would I want a gift from  _ you _ ?" she huffed. "Honestly, you fae must all think we're idiots."

"I don't think-" Oighearálainn's voice cut off as if a hand had squeezed around her throat. She cursed quietly, hand going up to her neck.

The girl's face scrunched up again before she let out a peal of laughter.

"You looked so dumb!" she said. She made a face and clutched at her throat before bursting into more laughter.

Oighearálainn's chest tightened. Why was this human so mean? Oighearálainn couldn't recall a human ever being so mean to her. She couldn't even recall another fae being this mean. Oighearálainn ducked her head, her eyebrows knitting together. 

She just wanted to have fun without her bodyguards! She wanted to explore the forest! Breathe in the fresh air. She just wanted to finally get away from all of the annoyances in the castle, away from the infuriatingly pitiful gazes from the other fae. Away from Mother, who always seemed to care more about the court or her secret room than her own daughter. And now Oighearálainn was stuck in this stupid hole with stupid iron and this stupid human girl was making fun of her!

Oighearálainn's lip quivered.

And then she burst into tears.

The girl's laughter immediately stopped. "H-hey," she called hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"No!" Oighearálainn exclaimed. She started rubbing at her eyes furiously. "I am most definitely _ not _ okay. I just wanna go home! And I want Mother to actually spend time with me and not just hand me off to another stupid bodyguard! And I don't want to do my studies. And I just wanna have fun in the forest and-"

Oighearálainn broke off with a sob. She huffed out several small breaths, barely managing to make out the little girl's stunned expression between the blurriness of her tears. After a moment, the girl disappeared again and Oighearálainn let out a high-pitched sound that could only be described as a  _ whine _ .

“Oh calm  _ down _ ,” the girl’s voice said from somewhere above her. “I’m going to help you! Just be patient.”

Mother always told Oighearálainn that patience was for humans, but just this time, she closed her mouth and waited.

Several hours passed and Oighearálainn was starting to question whether the human had lied to her. What a fascinating skill, Oighearálainn thought, to be able to weave untruths without thinking about it. Or did humans think about it beforehand? Could humans tell when other humans were lying?

Oighearálainn found herself so wrapped up in her thoughts of lying that she didn’t hear footsteps returning. She looked up, startled. The footsteps were much too different to belong to the little girl. Oighearálainn unwillingly withdrew away from the edge.

A boy’s face appeared over the edge of the hole, his body casting a shadow over Oighearálainn. He couldn’t have been much older than the girl, but something about him looked much meaner. Oighearálainn pulled herself deeper into the shadows, concealing herself from him. But even the shadows seemed to fear this boy.

As he peered down, a smile curled onto his face. But where the girl’s nose had scrunched when she smiled, this boy’s eyes just widened slightly. He looked like a hungry bobcat, wild and predatory.

"Any pretty fairies hiding down there?" he called.

Oighearálainn hunched in on herself, glaring up at this boy. She suddenly wanted the human girl back very, very much. At least she hadn’t looked quite so terrifying.

“Hey!” a voice called out and Oighearálainn recognized it as the girl’s. She relaxed, just a bit.

The boy jerked back. “What’re  _ you  _ doing here?” he snarled.

Something hot and itchy rose up in Oighearálainn’s chest. Something  _ protective _ . How dare this brat speak to her human that way?

“Your mom is looking for you, you oaf,” the girl said with a sneer in her voice. “Something about not chopping firewood?”

“My mom doesn’t talk to you pixie-lover folk.”

What did that mean? Based on Oighearálainn’s interactions with the girl, she clearly was just as hostile towards the fae as the boy was. The girl made an indignant sound and threw her hands up. “Fine! Let your Ma be mad at you. See if I care!”

The boy seemed to hesitate and then he groaned. And then she heard him running away. Oighearálainn released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. When she looked up, the girl was back, squinting down at the now dark hole. "Hey?" she called. "You still down there?"

Oighearálainn let the shadows fall away and the girl let out a small shriek, nearly losing her hold on the edge. She jerked back and Oighearálainn suddenly found something cold settling in her stomach. It was not an emotion she was familiar with.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," the girl exclaimed before she reappeared. "Warn a girl first!"

Who were Jesus, Mary, and Joseph? Oighearálainn didn't feel the usual tug she felt when a name was spoken to her. It was quite curious. "I apologize," she said and the girl raised an eyebrow at her.

"You fae are quite good at talking around the truth," she said. Oighearálainn opened her mouth to say something, though she wasn't sure  _ what _ , but the girl just disappeared again.

"Watch out!" the girl shouted.

Oighearálainn wondered what she meant. And then a length of rope was dropping towards her. It hit the ground with a thud and Oighearálainn jumped back from it.

"Give it sharp tug!" the girl said.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Oighearálainn shouted back.

"Do you want out of the fairy trap or not?"

Oighearálainn pouted but she reached for the rope and yanked on it. Nothing happened. "Well?" the girl reappeared. "Are you going to climb out or not?"

"You want me to  _ climb _ it?"

The girl looked at her with confusion. "Fairy, I am a  _ human child _ . I can't pull you up."

Oighearálainn had forgotten humans were so weak. She let out a sigh that was most certainly longer than it needed to be and grabbed the rope. It couldn't be much different than climbing a tree, right? Just no footholds. And it was straight up. She could do this. Right?

"You okay?" the girl asked. Her voice was much softer than it had been the previous times.

"I'm-" Oighearálainn choked again. She flushed, expecting the girl to make fun of her again.

But she didn't. Instead she said, "You just grab onto it and shimmy up. Use your arms to pull and your legs to push."

Oighearálainn grabbed onto the rope and pulled herself up before a wave of panic came over her. "I don't… I don't think I can!" she exclaimed, her breath hitching.

What if she couldn't climb out? What if the rope snapped? Oighearálainn just really, really wanted to go home! She was  _ never going to get out this hole! _

"Hey, hey," the girl said. "Focus on my voice. It's okay. I promise."

"Stop lying!" Oighearálainn cried out.

"I'm not lying," the girl said. "You can get out, fairy. I  _ know _ you can."

"I can't!"

"Yes! You can. Just take a deep breath," the girl took a deep breath and after a moment, Oighearálainn followed her. She didn't necessarily need to breathe, but her chest started to feel a bit less tight. "And exhale slowly."

Oighearálainn listened to the human child. How foolish, she thought, the Princess of the Woods listening to a human. But she had to admit she was feeling better.

"Now, climb," the girl instructed gently.

Oighearálainn climbed. Arms pulling up, legs pushing down. She climbed and climbed, her eyes still clenched tightly closed. And then hands were on her arms, but before Oighearálainn could react, she was pulled upwards. Up and over the edge of the trap.

The girl groaned as she pulled Oighearálainn out and then they both toppled back onto the ground. Oighearálainn collapsed on top of the girl, her arms shaking. The girl let out a grunt, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Oighearálainn was  _ exhausted _ . She briefly thought about just falling asleep on top of the human, who was warm and squishy beneath her. But she thought the girl might not like that and she rolled off. Almost immediately, the shadows began to tangle themselves around Oighearálainn, writhing with excitement and relief.

Oighearálainn finally opened her eyes, only to find the girl standing over her and grinning. "See?" the girl said. "Told you!"

"Are all of you so arrogant?" Oighearálainn asked, but there was no malice in her words. She was much too grateful to be angry right now.

The girl shrugged before she fell back onto the ground. After a moment, Oighearálainn sat up as well, turning to face the girl.

"I owe you a gift now," Oighearálainn said.

The girl paled. "Oh, no, you don't have to-"

Oighearálainn held up a hand and the girl immediately fell silent. At least she had  _ some _ sense of self-preservation.

"I can't really give you much," Oighearálainn said. "I'm not as powerful as my mother, not yet. But I do have one thing I can give you."

"No,  _ really _ ," the girl tried again.

"My name is Oighearálainn Eiry Arianwyn Orlaith Andrasta," Oighearálainn said and that stopped the girl short.

Around them, the air crackled with the familiar pressure of magic. The tug was there, pulling Oighearálainn to the girl in front of her. The girl stared,  _ balked _ really.

"Why-" she said, her voice so quiet that it was almost lost to the sound of the forest. "Why would you tell me that?"

"So you might call upon me when you need me," Oighearálainn said. "I must return the favor."

The girl laughed, the sound bordering on hysterical. And she just shook her head. "I am  _ not _ going to be able to remember that, fairy," she said before standing. "Besides, I don't need you help."

Oighearálainn blinked up at her. No one had ever refused a gift from her before. The girl flashed her a smile. "I'm just gonna call you 'Blue'," she said. "Because of your pretty blue eyes."

At the girl's words, something settled into Oighearálainn's bones. A magic she'd never encountered before. Or perhaps she had once, long ago. It prickled against her skin and up her spine and even the girl seemed to go rigid next to her.

"Blue," Oighearálainn tested the name out. It tangled into her vocals, ringing with a finality that only came with blessings and curses. She grinned up at the girl, who returned it with a nervous one of her own. "I like it."

"O-okay," the girl said shakily. "I should probably go home now."

"Thank you," Oighearálainn said sincerely.

The girl nodded before turning and bolting into the forest. Oighearálainn hoped she didn't scare her too much. She kinda hoped she would see her again.

With a sigh, Oighearálainn picked herself up off the ground and turned back the way she'd come. She paused before she left the clearing and glanced back the way the girl had run. "Blue," she whispered again. Again, that magic rang out, so thick it felt tangible.

Humming a song with a smile on her face, Blue made her way home.

* * *

Darling-Grace was  _ not _ lost, thank you very much. A Carre getting lost in the forest would be a terrible, terrible thing. Imagine what her cousins would say! And Terra! Oh, Terra would tease her relentlessly if she knew.

If she knew that Darling-Grace wasn't lost, of course. Because she wasn't lost. She just got separated from her friends is all. Right, she just momentarily took a different trail.

Darling-Grace turned in a wide circle, staring at the trees overhead. Orange and red and yellow had started to crowd in with the green and the forest floor crunched with newly fallen leaves. Autumn had always been her favorite season. The sunsets were always best in autumn and the changing of the leaves still managed to take her breath away. 

Plus, not too hot or too cold? Sign her up!

But perhaps coming out to the forest on the first day of autumn was not the best idea. Solstices and equinoxes were always rampant with fae, both good and bad. 

Darling-Grace had assumed she'd be safe if there were four of them. Now there was just one.

Henrietta would find her soon, right?

Or Henry? Or Unathi?

Had they even realized she was missing? Darling-Grace sat down heavily on a rock, tugging absently on one of her braids. Did they think she wandered off on purpose? It wasn't unlike her to do that. What if they thought she'd been pixie-led or  _ worse _ , snatched up into a fairy circle?

Darling-Grace was not lost, but she was terribly afraid. She'd never admit that aloud, of course. She was supposed to be the fearless one. She was the fearless one. Henrietta was the smart one. Unathi was the charming one. And Henry was the nice one.

If she was afraid, then what did she have? Frizzy hair and stupid freckles and her weird eyes that everyone made fun of? Bad grades and a worse temper?

Darling-Grace buried her face into her hands. She needed Henrietta right this instant. She needed her twin to give her a hug and tell her how amazing she was. Because that's what twins did.

Unathi would sing his silly  _ Darling-Grace _ song. And Henry would give her a candy; Henry  _ always _ had candy.

But first she had to find them and she had no idea where they were!

Okay, maybe she was a  _ little _ lost. Just a little. But enough lost for it to matter.

If only she could figure out which way she came from. Or the direction of the beach? Or something? She reached into her pocket to tug out her compass, but she knew that was a longshot. Compasses only worked in Cresrose half of the time and, on a day like this, she doubted it was going to work at all. The barest glance confirmed her suspicions; the compass was whirling around in fast circles, only to stop every few seconds and point in random directions.

Darling-Grace shoved the compass back into her pocket. That was probably her only solution.

She blinked back the tears forming in her eyes, rubbing furiously at her face. She was  _ not _ going to start crying in the middle of the woods. So she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and steadied herself.

When she reopened her eyes, she screamed.

The forest had gone almost pitch black. Darling-Grace hopped to her feet and turned in a quick, frantic circle. The sky swirled with stars overhead. She quickly pulled out her pocket watch and confirmed that it was, in fact, already past eight.

“No,” she cried. “No, Mama is going to be  _ furious _ with me. No…”

And then she remembered  _ her _ . A little fairy girl that Darling-Grace had found trapped in a hole. But that was  _ months _ ago. Surely the fairy didn’t remember her now. A howl broke through the night and Darling-Grace jumped at the sound.

It didn’t matter, she decided with her heart pounding in her chest. She needed to get home now. But what was that fairy’s name? Gosh, ti was something long and it definitely hadn’t been English. Orie? Irie? Orlaith?

Darling-Grace let out a small shout of frustration. What had she decided to call the fairy? Some color? Would that spontaneous nickname even work? Darling-Grace’s eyes were drawn to her hair ribbon, colored a bright blue. She grinned and exclaimed, rather loudly, “Blue!”

“Hello.”

Darling-Grace screamed. She whirled around quickly, her hand slapping over her mouth. To her complete and total surprise, there stood the fairy girl. She looked just as pretty as the last time Darling-Grace saw her. And just as otherworldly.

The fairy looked around Darling-Grace’s age, but that didn’t mean anything. Her hair was long, tangled with branches and flowers and a few leaves, and pale white, the color of the moon on a clear night. Her skin was the same color, unblemished and soft-looking like new soap. And her eyes. That was what stood out the most to Darling-Grace. Her eyes were a cornflower blue, bright and vibrant and lacking any other shade or coloring aside from the black of her pupil and the white surrounding it.

Darling-Grace knew that the fairy was supposed to unnerve her, but she found her absolutely beautiful. Like a fairy tale princess.

“You…” Darling-Grace tugged on both of her braids. “You  _ came _ .”

The fairy girl offered her a small smile, one that looked nervous and just human enough to make Darling-Grace’s stomach twist. “Yes,” she said. “I told you to call if you needed me.”

“But I didn’t say your name?”

“Yes, you did,” the fairy girl’s smile widened just a little bit more. “My name is Blue.”

Darling-Grace peered at her, trying to judge whether or not she was teasing her. But Darling-Grace knew that faes can’t lie, so the girl  _ must _ be telling the truth. “You said your name was… Ireland or something like that.”

“It was,” the fairy said. “It changed.”

Was that even possible? Darling-Grace had never heard of something like that happening before. She opened her mouth then closed it again. The fairy girl stepped closer and for once, Darling-Grace did not move away from a fae.

“Did you need help?” the fairy girl-  _ Blue _ \- asked. And then she shifted, that nervous smile back on her face. “Or did you just want to see me?”

Now Darling-Grace felt very, very guilty though she couldn’t understand why. She hadn’t thought much about the fairy girl in the hole in the past couple of months. She certainly hadn’t thought about calling her up just to say “hi”. But it was clearly the answer Blue had been hoping for.

Darling-Grace didn’t feel right about lying to her though, not when she had to tell the truth. “No,” she said softly, looking down at her feet. “I got separated from my friends and then it got dark and I just… Can you help me get home?”

Blue grinned then, a bright and radiant smile that caught Darling-Grace completely off guard. She’d never seen a fae grin in a way that wasn’t completely predatory. Blue’s smile was just genuinely happy. Like the idea of bringing Darling-Grace home was the best thing she could be doing right then.

“Of course!”

Blue held out her hand. Darling-Grace stared at it. Blue’s smile dipped. “I won’t hurt you,” she said, a little sadly. 

Darling-Grace kept her hands to herself. “Just because you won’t hurt me doesn’t mean you won’t do something bad to me,” she said.

“I won’t do anything bad,” Blue said very seriously. “I will take you straight to the human village and nowhere else. I will keep you safe, I promise.”

The air rippled with something very  _ other _ . It held the same feeling as Unathi’s voice when he sang. Or when the deep one’s sang their songs. Or when fairy circles appeared in the middle of town and everyone very studiously avoided them. But it was much, much stronger and it nearly took Darling-Grace’s breath away.

Darling-Grace knew it was stupid. She knew that if she grabbed Blue’s hand, something—or maybe  _ everything _ —would change. Even so, she hesitantly stepped forward and grabbed the fairy’s hand.

A wave of nausea overtook Darling-Grace and she slammed her eyes closed. Not a second later, she was standing in the center of town, right in front of the bell tower. She turned in a slow circle, pausing when she saw Blue standing next to her.

“I appreciate it,” Darling-Grace said and Blue smiled at her once again, but this time, Darling-Grace’s chest felt warm with something that was definitely  _ not _ fear.

“I’m glad,” Blue said and then she looked off towards the trees. Her gaze shifted back to Darling-Grace. “If you ever need help or just want to talk… You can just call my name, okay?”

Darling-Grace was nodding before she even really processed it. Blue slowly released Darling-Grace’s hand, but before she pulled away completely, Darling-Grace gripped it tightly. “Darling,” she managed to stumble out. “My name is Darling.”

Blue’s head tilted in a very bird-like way. “Not entirely,” she said and Darling-Grace flushed. “But Darling suits you just as well.”

And then she pulled away and Darling-Grace was alone. But definitely not lost.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is also on my Tumblr at [Felilla](https://felilla.tumblr.com/). You can check out more info about the story there, usually tagged under "What Walks the Trees and Swims the Deep" or "wwttastd". Anyways, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
